This well made 14 1/2-inch, nutcracker is one of a few models that were marketed at least in part, through Lands End, the catalog clothing company. The designation for this model on the original box was simply "German Nutcracker".

This one was missing the top finial from its mitre cap when I purchased it. At the time, I couldn't find another example on the Web so I emailed the Erzgebirgische Volkskunst, company to ask what the finial might have looked like. Although "Erzgebirgische Volkskunst" along with their logo is printed on the bottom of the base, their representative said they had not made it.

I've have since seen several examples of this model. They all have the date 1996 printed on the bottom of the base. Since these nutcrackers were a limited issue, the current company rep was likely unaware of them. Compare the mouth, eyes and feet to those they currently make, on their website.

I was able to turn a facsimile of the finial based on the other examples and restore this one's original appearance.

The paint on the front of the mitre cap has deteriorated on all examples. I'm not certain what it looked like originally but I think it was probably gold with an accent line of another color, running around close to the edges. Since I don't have a pristine example of the original scheme, I'm chalking it up to "patina" and leaving it as is.

There are remnants of adhesive from a round label which was once on the back of the jaw lever of this example. I don't know what this label was. It may have even been a price tag.

The interesting features are: Colored stains on the body and limbs, artificial fur and blue plastic eye disks. These are slightly translucent and look somewhat different from the painted steel disks used by other makers. The ones on this example have faded to a blue/green color.